MALAYSIA MEI'S KITCHEN

Recipes

Seafood Laksa Noddle Soup

Seafood Laksa Noddle Soup

Serves 6

This epic delicious Malaysia/Singapore spiced flavor coconut base soup is a traditional "Nonya" culture comfort food, Nyoya means "food of Love" which originated from interracial marriage between Chinese decent and Local Malay decent. Every region has its own version of spicy and take on this recipe. It is one of the most popular food which feature from street-food vendors to fine-dining restaurant and home-cook.

In a large stockpot, add the oil and sauté the curry paste with the lemongrass & kaffir lime leaves for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, about 15 minutes, add the coconut and evaporated milk, season with fish sauce and tamarind juice to taste. Adjust the seasoning to balance the salt, sweet and sour flavor.

Continue to let it to simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the fish balls or cake and tofu puff and cook for 10 minutes, then cook the shrimp and scallop for 1-2 minutes in the broth. Turn off the heat. Add the curry leaves. Discard the lemongrass.

Meanwhile – blanch the noodles for 3 minutes or until al-dente. Drain the noodles and slightly drain in cold running water for a second or so, and transfer to a bowl.

In a medium sauce pan preheated 2 cups of oil to 350F. Fry the tofu until golden brown and crisp, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel - lined plate to absorb excess oil.

To make the vinaigrette
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the tamarind, lime juice, sambal olek, shrimp paste, fish sauce and palm sugar, season to taste to adjust the salty, sour, sweet and umami.

To Assemble the Salad
Toss the tofu, cucumber, apple, jicama, pineapple, mango, ½ of the peanut and mix well with the vinaigrette and arrange nicely on a salad platter. Garnish with remaining peanuts, mint and flowers.

In a small skillet, dry roast the chilies, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom by heating them over medium low heat for 1-2 minutes or until just until fragrant. Place the spices in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

In a large skillet or a wok, heat the oil over medium heat. Season chicken well with salt, pepper and curry powder and brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Set the chicken aside.

In the same pan, sauté the onion, ginger and garlic until the onion just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, add the onion mixture to a food processor along with the ground spices mixture and the stock and puree. Return the mixture to the skillet or wok, add the reserved chicken and coconut milk, partially cover and cook for 35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thicken. During the last 15 minutes, add in the potatoes to cook through tender. Stir every 5 minutes or so to make sure the sauce does not burn. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sugar and tamarind juice. Just before serving, stir in the tomatoes and cilantro and serve hot along with basmati or jasmine rice.

Blend all the marinade ingredients in a food-processer until smooth paste.

Heat up the oil in a medium sautéed pan, stir-fry the Marinade until fragrant and the oil slightly separates from it. Transfer into a mixing bowl and evenly coat the beef slices with the marinade mixture for at least 1 -2 hour or longer if time allow.

Sliced lengthwise two beef slices onto each skewer.

Preheat the griller – brush a little oil onto the griller and grill the beef skewers for 1-2 minutes or until the meat cooked to medium-rare.

Arrange the grilled beef satay, cucumber and onion on a platter lined with banana leaves, serve with peanut sauce.